Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, affect the behavior of patients and impair the cognition and learning ability of the patients. These disorders also result in dysfunction of the cognitive process, such as delusions, hallucinations, and extensive withdrawal of the patient's interests from other people. Neuropsychiatric disorders, which are characterized by a deficit in neurotransmission via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, can be alleviated by compounds that act as a glycine uptake inhibitor, such as N-methylglycine.
N-methylglycine is an amino acid naturally produced in the metabolism of choline. It has been applied to the treatment of major depression (Huang et al., Biological Psychiatry, 2013 Nov. 15; 74(10):734-41) and schizophrenia. It has been confirmed that N-methylglycine improves negative and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia (Amiaz et al., Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. 2015; 52(1):12-5; Strzelecki et al., Neurosci Lett. 2015 Oct. 8; 606:7-12).